It is often desirable to place papers and documents in a cover for storage and protection. A common method is to put two punched holes in a top edge of the papers and fit them over a prong fastener of the type sold by Acco and Speedway in a cover.
In the past, it has often been the case that many different types of covers have needed to be stocked to accommodate different sizes and types of reports. Further, it has been the case that extensive assembly of the cover is necessary at the time the papers are inserted in the cover. This can be very difficult when preparing many covers in a short time, such as during tax season.
It is desirable to provide identification on the cover's spine or front to note the contents within the cover, assuming that it will be placed on a shelf or in a file drawer with other covers, in order to distinguish one cover from another. Also, it is desirable to put a firm or company name or logo on the cover to provide a professional appearance.
A need exists to provide an elegant, high image professional looking cover which is also economical and easy to assemble. It is also desirable to make it as easy as possible to insert and remove papers from the cover. This makes it easier to remove or add documents in revisions, or to take out documents for copying. Also, it is desirable to have the cover allow the contents to lie flat on a table. Further, as such covers are often used on surfaces that can be scratched, it is best to avoid use of exposed metal, or other hard objects, such as rivets or the like that could scratch or mar a surface.